


Bedeviled

by xdistorted_cliffordx



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1d, Bottom Harry, BoyxBoy, Choking, Demons, Established Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Evil, Exorcisms, Harry Styles - Freeform, Harry Styles Loves Louis Tomlinson, Horror, Larry Stylinson Is Real, Liam Payne - Freeform, Long One Shot, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, M/M, Minor Niall Horan/Liam Payne, Niall Horan - Freeform, Niam - Freeform, Nightmares, One Shot, Possessed Harry, Possessed Liam, Possession, Scared Louis, Scary, Supernatural - Freeform, Top Louis, larries, larry stylinson - Freeform, one direction - Freeform, side of niam, stylinson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 23:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14681991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xdistorted_cliffordx/pseuds/xdistorted_cliffordx
Summary: Harry is usually a bright, sunshiny person that always brought joy into any room. Louis loved him more than anything and would do anything for him. All of the boys would. He was the pure soul that was optimistic about even the most negative of situations. He never wanted to hurt a fly. Harry Styles had a heart and soul made of gold.Until something changed him.Something dark.





	Bedeviled

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for at least a month now and honestly, I am so proud of it. I normally don't write horror stories because I'm not very good at them, but this one is by far one of my favorite one shots that I've ever written. 
> 
> My best friend and roommate helped me to come up with the initial idea and helped me write it and I appreciate you, woman, if you're reading this. :) 
> 
> Last but not least, here are some more specific warnings before you proceed:
> 
> -Dark!Harry, Possessed!Harry   
> -Sexual Content  
> -Graphic Details  
> -Violence
> 
> As per usual, I would appreciate if readers would NOT comment their critiques of my work or any negativity. That's not the reason that I post here!
> 
> I hope all y'all enjoy this as much as I did writing it! I'm so happy to finally share it with you all!
> 
> **Can also be found on my Wattpad account (1D_HarryStyles_1D)

There was something off about Harry.

Louis didn't know what it was, but there was definitely something wrong.. From what he could somewhat tell, it wasn't anything that he had done. For the most part, Harry treated him normally and didn't yell at him or wasn't giving him the cold shoulder for anything. He didn't treat the other boys like he was angry with them either. That was what was confusing. It was like he had completely changed who he was as a person or something overnight. It was like there was a part lost in his personality, but Louis couldn't quite place his finger on what it was.

Liam and Louis were the only ones in the dressing room before their concert in Glasgow. They had already done the meet and greet when Louis really noticed that something was going on with Harry. He acted forceful, hugging the fans so tight that they said "ouch" and ripping their phones from their hands. The attitude he had when talking to them wasn't what it normally was.Louis wondered if he was the only one that had noticed it or if the other boys had too. Maybe Louis was just overreacting.

"Louis, you alright, mate?" Liam asked, pulling him out of his worries.

"Huh? Yeah. Just getting into my head. I think it's because I'm tired," Louis shrugged, but then took a sharp inhale. "Have you noticed anything wrong with Harry?"

Liam took a moment, thinking about Louis' question. "What do you mean?"

"Like, have you noticed that he's been acting strange or different? Not like himself, I suppose," Louis clarified, picking at the edge of the hole in the knee of his jeans.

Liam took a sip from his water bottle. "Kind of, I guess. He's been acting a little more distant than normal. I'm sure it's nothing too serious. Probably just tired like the rest of us."

Louis nodded, his eyes fixated on his shoes. He hoped that he was right. "Yeah, I'm probably just overthinking it."

Shortly after Louis and Liam's conversation had ended, Harry and Niall emerged through the doors. Louis looked at Harry, smiling at him as he walked over. He appeared to be normal. There were faint black circles beneath his green eyes. It had to be just exhaustion. Performing took a lot out of a person.

"Hey, baby," Louis greeted as Harry sat down next to him, practically on his lap. That wasn't usually something that Harry did in public, but he wasn't going to question it. "What were you two doing?"

"Planning on how we can steal the carts from the crew an-" Harry started to say, but Niall interrupted him.

"Louis, Lou wants to talk to you. She said something about wanting to fix your hair up again," Niall requested.

Louis inched himself out from underneath Harry and got up to follow Niall to Lou's station. He was kind of confused as to why she wanted to redo his hair because there wasn't anything wrong with it. But, who was he to question a hair stylist's antics? He was about to turn into the room that Lou was in when Niall gripped onto the sleeve of his jacket, stopping him in his tracks. Louis snapped his head around to look at him when he saw a look of genuine fear and concern gracing his blue irises.

"What? What's wrong with you?" Louis asked, crinkling his brows.

"I need to talk to you about Harry," Niall said in a hushed voice.

"Okay...what about him?" Louis nervously encouraged. If he was honest, he was somewhat scared as to what he had to say.

"There something not right with him," Niall continued, the expression crossing his face one of genuine fear.

"You're scaring me, Niall. What happened?" Louis urged, getting fed up with him not getting to the point.

"We were out taking a walk around and just chatting when we got on the subject of how we should take the carts from the crew and just drive around like we did on the Take Me Home tour," Niall started.

"Okay? What's so bad about that? You know Haz; he's always up for some innocent fun," Louis snorted, feeling his tense muscles begin to relax.

"It was fine until he said something to me. It really threw me off because he would  _never_ say something like that," Niall continued explaining. Louis brought his hands up, making a circular motion in order for him to get on with it. "He was saying how funny it would be if we stole the carts and went through here at full speed, trying to run over as many crew members as we could and that we should make a game of it. For as many crew members that we hit, we get a point and two extra points if they start gushing blood and ten points for each one that we kill."

Louis looked at Niall in disbelief, not believing what he was hearing. "What? Harry said that?"

" _Yes._ There's something not right. He would never say something like that about anyone. He also said how fun it would be to see how many times it would take for us to hit and kill Paul at full speed," Niall continued explaining, the fear in his voice growing more and more apparent as the words left his mouth.

Louis couldn't believe what he was hearing about his beloved boyfriend. "Are you sure he said those things?"

"Would I be telling you this if I wasn't sure?" Niall hissed.

"Maybe he's just doing this for attention," Louis suggested, not wanting to believe that his sweet Harry would ever think of doing those things. "He's definitely getting it."

"Why the fuck would he say shit like that to get attention?! If anything, he'd be overly lovey and clingy," Niall argued. "I don't think Harry would ever think of something like that. At least, not by himself."

Louis just shook his head. "Niall, you need to lay off those ghost hunting shows. He's probably just trying to get a rise out of us."

"Yeah, okay," Niall shook his head. "You can't tell me that you haven't noticed him acting odd these past few days. He's not himself and you know it."

Niall sharply turned and walked away, leaving Louis standing there with even more questions than he had started out with.

"I have noticed," Louis whispers, himself being the only one able to hear the words.

\----

As the days progressed, Louis had been keeping a close eye on Harry to try and pinpoint what exactly was going on with him and if he had done or said anything like Niall had pointed out. The only thing that he had really noticed was the dark black circles that were forming under Harry's eyes. It wasn't the normal exhaustion related ones, however. It was like he had smeared black eyeliner across his skin. Maybe it was just exhaustion.

"Are you getting enough sleep, H?" Louis asked, rubbing gentle circles on Harry's back. "You feeling okay?"

"I feel wonderful," he responded in a very deep voice, a small smile flashing across his lips.

"Are you sure?" Louis encouraged, not buying the short response from him. There was no way someone had that dark of under eye bags and felt wonderful. That wasn't possible.

"Of course. I've never felt more...alive," Harry answered, a creepy edge to his voice.

The way that he responded gave Louis a slightly uneasy feeling. He claimed that he was feeling alive, but he looked like he was a zombie? It didn't add up. Harry looked back at him, his usually light green eyes were dark and empty. It felt like he was looking at a complete different person, someone that he didn't know.

"I don't appreciate you staring at me, you fuck," Harry sneered.

Louis was taken aback, his mouth dropping slightly at the comment. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize that I was."

"It's okay, babe," Harry smiled, leaning back and kissing his nose, as if the harsh and serious comment that he gave him never happened.

Louis didn't know how to respond, so he just gave him a tight smile back. The more that Louis thought about it, the more that he felt on edge. It wasn't like Harry to have such extreme mood swings like that. In fact, he never had went through mood swings. If Harry was angry about something, he would normally be upset for a few hours or until it was talked out. It was never at the drop of a hat like that.

Liam and Niall came into the room, jabbering away about something before they had taken a seat across from Louis and Harry. Louis looked at Niall, reading his body language. He refused to look at Harry, but Harry was staring him down, looking almost evil as he sat there. Niall was clearly uncomfortable, shifting in his seat and fidgeting with his fingers. Louis readjusted himself, nonchalantly scooting a bit further away from Harry. His eyes drifted over to Liam, wondering if he could see what was happening, but he was too busy. He brought his gaze back over to Harry to see if he was still shooting Niall daggers, but jumped when he made eye contact with Harry's cold eyes.

"Is there something wrong with you, Louis?" Harry asked, his voice a deep hiss.

"N-no, I'm fine. Just daydreaming, s'all," Louis responded, actually feeling scared that he had said the wrong thing to him.

"Why did you move away from me?" Harry quizzed, now shooting daggers at Louis.

Scared that he would answer the wrong thing, Louis gulped and tried to pretend that he wasn't panicking or freaking out inside. "Oh, sorry. I was just getting myself more comfortable."

"You aren't comfortable being close to me?" he asked, sounding like he was about to get up and rip Louis to shreds.

"Of course I am, baby! My back was just getting sore. Come'ere. Sit by me," Louis invited, forcing the invitation out. A smile graced Harry's features and he cuddled into Louis' side and laying his head on his chest.

Louis looked up at the two sitting across from him, who were just looking at them nervously. Liam was obviously dumbfounded, not understanding in the slightest what was happening. Niall's face was as white as snow from the fear that had obviously taken over him. He hoped that Harry couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest or the uneven breaths. That would be the hardest thing to explain.

"So, I was thinking of getting another tattoo," Harry started, sounding eerily excited as he sat up from his cuddling position and scrolled through his phone. When he found it, he laid the phone down on the table to show the rest of the lot the design.

"Harry, that's a 666 symbol," Liam blurted, looking up at him in disbelief.

"I'm fully aware of that, Liam," Harry retorted.

"Do you know what that means? That's the number of the Devil," Liam responded flatly.

"Why do you think that I'm getting it?" Harry responded, causing all three of their heads to look at him.

His eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth slowly inched up his cheeks, his teeth only slightly showing. The sounds of him laughing darkly, sounding like something evil. The sight was eerie. Louis felt chills crawl up his spine as he gulped and sat back. It wasn't Harry.

"Why do you all look like you've just seen a ghost?" Harry questioned, the frightening smile getting larger. "Are you scared?"

"No, no. It's-" Louis started, trying to hide the slight terror that was in his voice, but was cut off by Liam.

"It's more worried than anything, Harry," Liam blurted, staring directly at Harry and avoiding the warning looks that both Louis and Niall were giving him.

"Worried about what exactly?" Harry quizzed, false genuinity lacing his tone.

"You're acting insane! I don't know what the hell is wrong with you, but I feel that it needs to be discussed. Getting the mark of Satan permanently inked on your body is too far. Are you on drugs or something?" Liam erupted.

"Getting the mark of master isn't insanity, you disgrace," Harry responded, his voice growling through gritted teeth.

"Master? I'm a disgrace? What on Earth is going on?" Liam exasperated, obviously not catching onto the fact that Harry wasn't himself. "Why would you want that goat-headed cunt permanently on your body?!"

Within a flash, Harry was on his feet and had his hands around Liam's throat, pinning him up against the wall. The sounds of Liam choking and gasping for air filled the room. Liam was trying to scrape at Harry's eyes and face, crimson red blood dripping down his cheeks, but Harry was so focused that he wasn't even thinking about letting go of him. Louis was frozen with fear, not sure what to do or being able to move. That was when Niall intervened, jumping on Harry from behind, putting his arms around his neck in a chokehold, squeezing until Harry's hands let loose and Liam dropped to the floor. Niall let Harry go once he was unconscious and not a threat anymore. Louis and Niall rushed to Liam's side as he coughed and panted while curling into himself with complete horror in his brown eyes.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital? Liam, talk to me!" Louis rushed out, grabbing a water bottle off of the end table.

Liam shook his head, taking a large gulp of the water. He removed the hand that was on his neck, revealing deep fleshy burn marks where Harry's hands had been. "My throat...why does it burn? It feels...like it's on fire."

Niall and Louis looked at each other after looking at his neck. Neither of them knew what to do. Louis gulped and his eyes darted over to where Harry was lying unconscious on the ground not even three feet from them. How could someone that had once been so loving and full of happiness turn to something so dark and evil?

"It's...I don't know, Liam," Louis responded honestly. He didn't know  _how_ to respond. It wasn't like it was normal for burns to appear after being choked by what you thought was your best friend.

Niall took the now sobbing Liam into a hug, cradling him close. "It's okay, babe."

"What is he?" Liam asked as his breath began to even out.

"Not Harry," Louis responded with a tear cascading down his cheek, not being able to take his eyes off of the body in front of him.

\----

Sleep had been pretty much out of the question for Louis. He was lying with his back to the knocked out Harry, just waiting for him to come conscious. With what little information he knew about what could be going on with Harry, he knew that he didn't sleep much or at all. After all that had happened with Liam, Louis was actually terrified. Never once did he think that he was going to be scared to be around the boy that he called his precious peach. He let his eyes drift shut, feeling his eyelids getting heavy with the overwhelming feeling of tiredness. It couldn't hurt to close them for a few minutes.

Louis felt himself drift back into an awake state a little bit later, mentally cursing himself for falling asleep. He opened his eyes the slightest bit while he adjusted, seeing the silhouette of Harry sitting up and looking down at him. If he would've been fully with it, he would've darted out of that bed as soon as he could, but he was still overtaken with sleep that he just shut his eyes and went back to sleep without another thought about it.

_Louis was panting and running as fast as he could. He couldn't figure out why he was running. There was nothing to be running from that he could think of. The feeling of absolute horror washed over him as he tried to figure out what was going on in his head. The only sound that was echoing were his feet as they rhythmically hit the gravel with every step, so nothing was chasing him that he could hear._

_The view in front of him felt like it was one of those never ending roads. It was plain, the sky a light gray from the clouds, the field grass a dull golden brown like it was when the cold weather hit. Louis went to turn his head, but he felt beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead, as though he was going to see something horrific. Wanting to know why, Louis quit running and turned his body around, his mouth falling open at the sight._

_The sky was now a dark black, filled with giant cumulus clouds. It looked like the entrance of Hell, in Louis' opinion. That's when he saw Harry standing there, not even six feet from him. The look on his face was menacing and most definitely the most haunting expression that Louis had ever seen. The feelings of helplessness, terror, and fear embraced his body as he looked into Harry's dark green eyes. It was almost like they were filled with evil. The grin on his face was a Joker-esque smirk. He stepped closer to him and Louis kept telling himself to wake up, but he wouldn't. He was starting to believe that it was reality and not a nightmare at all._

_Harry stopped when both of their bodies were fully intact with each other, Louis being able to feel his hot breath as he exhaled out. Harry started to lean his head in, as if he was going for a kiss, but with a sharp movement, Louis' throat was being gripped so tightly, he felt his esophagus begin to close immediately._

Louis shot up into a sitting position, gasping as he felt his lungs fill back up with air. The nightmare had felt so real, it was almost like he had actually been choking. When his vision cleared and he got his wits about him, he saw Harry emerge from the shadows of the dark bathroom. Louis' eyes just scanned over him, not being able to create words.

"Bad dream?" Harry spoke, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Louis nodded his head quickly, feeling his breath begin to even out. He didn't say anymore and glanced away from Harry. That dream was beyond frightening because it had been so realistic and had felt like it actually happened. A large part of his mind was telling him that it hadn't happened, that it was just a terrifying nightmare and that was all. It was just from the prior night's events with Liam replaying in his head. But there was that teeny part of him that believed that Harry had somehow gotten into his mind and made that happen. The way Harry had looked at him, the way that he had looked, the fact that Louis actually felt his breath on his skin. It was all too real.

He looked back up, figuring that Harry was still standing there, watching him, but was surprised when he didn't see the familiar silhouette. He felt his heart begin to race just the slightest bit, not knowing where he was. After what just happened in his head, he needed to know what Harry was doing and where he was at all times. He saw what happened to Liam. He didn't want it to happen to him because he had a feeling it would be a lot worse.

"What are you doing up, babe?" Harry suddenly asked, a different tone to his voice. If Louis wasn't mistaken, it sounded like the old Harry.

"Like you said, a bad dream," Louis restated cautiously.

"Oh...go back to sleep. You need to rest," Harry prompted, looking at him as he crawled in the bed, now adorned in the oversized light pink sweater that he always wore when he felt cold. "Goodnight. Love you."

Louis watched as Harry crawled beneath the covers, his back towards him, and laid his head on the pillow. Gently, Louis lowered himself so he was laying again and he pulled the covers up to his chin. After a few seconds of just staring at the blank ceiling, he forced himself to shut his eyes, hoping that what he had dreamed about wasn't there, waiting for him like a paused movie. Under his breath, he let out a mumble. "I love you too, H..."

\----

All day, Louis had been walking around like a scared puppy. It felt like he was suffering a sort of PTSD after that dream. It felt like he had to constantly look behind him in case he decided to attack him in the middle of the night. Louis knocked on Niall's door after glancing behind him to make sure Harry wasn't lurking and spying on him. It wouldn't have surprised him if he would've been because he had overheard Louis talking to Niall on the phone that morning about him and things regarding him. Every ounce of Louis was hoping that he didn't piece two and two together so he became suspicious.

Niall yanked open the door and quickly yanked Louis into the apartment, locking the door as soon as both of them were in the apartment. Louis looked around, the rank smell of old pizza filling the air. He turned and looked at his Irish friend, his hair mused and face looking exhausted. There were bags beneath his eyes, which caused Louis to panic, but then he realized that it wasn't the same glazed over look that Harry had.

"What happened to this place? What happened to  _you_?" Louis asked.

"I haven't gotten around to cleaning in a while," Niall shrugged. "Also, I've been up for most of the night."

"What? Why?" he asked, though knew he shouldn't judge because he hadn't gotten much sleep either.

"Well, it started out that I was watching Liam and making sure that he was okay. He stayed the night. He actually left not long before you came. Anyways, then I couldn't sleep, so I decided to watch Netflix. But after that uneventful bout, I started researching what was a matter with Harry and I think that I discovered it," Niall explained.

Louis' ears perked up. "You did? What's wrong with him?"

Niall gestured for him to follow. Obliging, Louis followed Niall to the open laptop on the crumb-filled coffee table, laying his eyes on a PDF file that was basically just photocopies of a book. He took a seat and squinted at the screen, the picture of a Satan-looking monster illustrated on the first page.

"What am I looking at here?" Louis asked.

"It's an excerpt from a demonology book that I found when I was surfing Harry's symptoms. If you read it, it lists basically all of the things that we've seen Harry do," Niall continued. He sat down on the cushion that was next to him and put his fingers on the mouse pad, skipping a few pages until he found the one that he was looking for. "Read this paragraph right here."

Louis leaned in and began reading the paragraph, finding all of these symptoms and warning signs. Niall had been right; most of Harry's behaviors were in there. At least 80% of them were. "Okay, so what does this mean? What is Harry?"

"He's a demon, according to this," Niall answered without hesitation. Louis' eyes widened. "Well, he's not a demon, but he's definitely possessed by one."

"He's possessed? How do we get him unpossessed? An exorcism?" Louis asked. He had seen his fair share of horror movies. That was usually the sure fire way to get rid of them.

Niall nodded. "That's what the book says. Along with a bunch of other people from Yahoo Answers."

"How the hell are we going to find someone to perform an exorcism without drawing attention? It's not like we're religious people. The media's going to talk if they see it," Louis pointed out.

"I'm Irish, dude. We can just use that. I, myself, am not particularly that religious, but my family is, so it wouldn't be that crazy that I just want to talk to a Father," Niall told him, acting as if it wasn't a big deal.

Louis took a minute, processing the events. "Alright. I'll...I'll start calling around and I'll try to find someone that is willing to perform one for us. But you need to get some sleep. The bags under your eyes are going to match Harry's soon and I don't want to have to fear you as well."

Niall rolled his tired eyes. "Fine. I'll go to sleep, but you better tell me when you find someone because we need to do this as soon as we possibly can, otherwise it's going to be too late."

Nodding, Louis got up from the couch and began to walk towards the front door before Harry noticed or realized where he was. But before he went, he turned around. "Could you send me the link to that PDF?"

"Yeah, I will. Good luck," Niall said, walking him the rest of the way to the door. 

Louis left the apartment and started the chilling walk to his car. He was frightened to go home. What if Harry was mad that he wasn't there? It wasn't out of his league to hurt him over it. At least, it wasn't out of this alternate Harry's league. As he thought about it, he realized how insane it sounded that he was now of the thinking that his boyfriend was possessed by a very dark energy. Never before had Louis really been a believer of that kind of stuff. He always thought of it as a way for Hollywood to make an extra buck because of all of the shitty movies and TV shows that came out. But now that he was experiencing what it was, it didn't seem fake at all. If anything, it was the only thing that made absolute sense. A normal person wouldn't leave burns in the shape of their fingertips on someone's neck. Something that wasn't human would be the only thing that would do that.

Unfortunately, Niall didn't live that far from where Harry and Louis lived. As much as Louis was tempted to drive past, he knew that he would regret it if he would. He had an excuse prepared and he hoped that Harry would buy it and not somehow know that he was lying. Demons or possessed people couldn't read minds, could they? Because if that were the case, Louis was practically digging his own grave at that point.

He slowly walked into the apartment, waiting to be pounced on, but when he wasn't, he felt his shoulders lose tension. The feeling of the place was eerie. There wasn't any sign of life throughout - no movement, no presence of someone else. Louis gulped, worrying where Harry might be. Had he actually followed him to Niall's? What if he was attacking Niall?

Quickly, Louis drew out his phone and called the boy. "Niall, are you okay?"

_"I'm fine. Did you miss me that much?"_ Niall said through the line.

"Are you sure that you're alone?" Louis asked.

_"Yes...why wouldn't I be?"_ Niall asked, almost sounding as though he was second guessing himself.  _"You're scaring me."_

"I don't think he's here," Louis whispered sharply, in case Harry was there.

_"And you think that he would be here?"_ Niall questioned.

"Well, he may have overheard a little bit of our conversation this morning," Louis admitted quietly, tiptoeing through the apartment.

_"I'm pretty sure that he isn't here. Maybe he just went to take a walk?"_ Niall suggested, not sounding worried at all.

Louis went to speak as he finished peeking in the bedroom and nearly shat himself when he turned around, Harry standing there, glaring at him almost. "It's okay, Niall. I found him. He's home."

_"You sound terrified, if that's what you're trying to av-"_

Louis ended the call and took the phone away from his ear. "Hey, H. I was worried you left."

"No, I would never leave," Harry said with a tight smile. "Where were you?"

"I was at Niall's. He called this morning and needed some help with something," Louis explained to him, not exactly lying.

"Why didn't you take me with you, Lou? Niall and I are friends," Harry prompted, slowly making his way closer to Louis.

"It was just a quick thing that needed to be fixed. You'll see him this afternoon at the studio," Louis told him, trying his damnedest to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Are you cheating on me, Louis?" Harry asked, now causing Louis to back up against the wall.

"What?" Louis squeaked out.

"With  _Niall_?" he hissed, the name dripping off his lips as if it were venom.

"No, Harry! I wouldn't cheat on you with anyone! Especially Niall," Louis told him.

Harry brought his hand up, his fingers caressing the bottom of Louis' chin. "I'm your one and only. You're devoted to me."

"You're my one and only. I'm fully devoted to you," Louis said in a hushed voice, extremely nervous with Harry's hand so close to his neck.

Harry pressed his lips against Louis' in a rough and sloppy kiss, completely catching Louis off guard. He didn't know if it was good or bad that Harry was kissing him. He didn't want whatever spirit was in him to infest in his own body. Harry pulled away, the haunting smirk pulling across his features. "Good to know."

\----

To say that the tensions were high was an understatement.

Liam was walking around, practically terrified of being within two rooms of Harry. Understandably so, of course. Niall was ready to pounce if Harry dare attack again. Louis didn't know how to feel. He was scared and concerned for Liam, but at the same time, he felt protective of Harry. He didn't want either of them to fight him or hurt him just because of what was happening. He didn't feel that way when Harry had attacked Liam. He had  _wanted_ him to fight back. It was a weird feeling because Louis didn't want to necessarily feel that way, but it was like he had no other choice in the matter.

He reached down and grabbed a water bottle just as Liam walked into the room. Louis looked up at him, a sudden wave of fury coming over him as he eyed his bandmate. Quickly, he looked away, starting to panic. He went over to Niall, pulling him into the hallway. He looked around, making sure that it was just the two of them.

"Ouch! What the hell is your problem?" Niall asked, rubbing his arm where Louis had gripped him.

"I don't know what's going on. I think something is happening to me," Louis rushed out.

"What do you mean something is happening to you?" Niall quizzed.

"Well, I was thinking about the tension in this place because of the events that took place and I didn't feel all that bad for Liam anymore, I guess? I felt more protective of Harry. Like, I wasn't mad that he attacked and if he were to do it again, I would be more angry if  _you_ fought him like you did," Louis started. "And then Liam came in the room and I looked at him and I got...I was furious! It was like I wanted to rip his head off. I have no idea why. He didn't say anything to me or anything. All he was doing was going about his business and I was seeing red.  _I was seeing red."_

A look of fear crossed Niall's face. "Do you feel okay?"

"I feel fucking terrified something is happening to me, Niall! I don't want whatever is in Harry to be in me!" Louis hissed at him.

"Okay, okay," Niall surrendered. "Wait here."

Louis was about to say something, but Niall was already on his way to do whatever it was that he was doing. It was a scary feeling, knowing that something evil could be inside. He didn't like that. He wasn't an evil person. He didn't do evil things. More like he didn't want to be an evil person or do evil things. Niall came back in the hallway, Liam following him. Before Louis could feel any type of anger, he looked away from him.

"What are you doing. Niall? I literally just told you what is going on and you bring him back here?!" Louis snapped, fixing his eye on Niall and Niall only.

"I have an idea. We're going to try something," Niall said casually. "Grab your shit. We're going on a trip."

Louis obliged, going into the other room to grab a jacket and followed Niall and Liam to his vehicle waiting out front. Poor Liam was forced in the backseat and Louis was in the passenger seat so he couldn't look at him. Liam kept peppering them with questions as to what was going on and where they were going, but neither Niall or Louis answered him. They both felt as though it was too much to try and make sense of when they were somehow in such a hurry.

The city passed by, everything somewhat a blur. Louis thought about Harry, how he used to be before whatever it was got into him. He didn't know how it could've happened. Why was this happening to them? What did they do wrong? It wasn't like the committed any extremely bad sins. It wasn't like they had killed anyone or worshipped the Devil or did anything that would be considered remotely evil. That what was confusing.

Niall slowed down and Louis got out of his mind. They were pulling in front of what looked to be a church. Louis gulped. Of all places, he wasn't really expecting Niall to go there, especially without Harry.

"What are we doing here?" Louis asked, looking at Niall with a shocked expression.

"I told you that I had an idea," Niall repeated, parking the vehicle.

They got out of the car and started walking towards the church. Louis felt his body begin to heat up, almost like he was on fire. Beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead and his feet began to feel like cinder blocks were tied to them. He stopped in his tracks, Niall and Liam looking back at him.

"What's a matter with you?" Niall asked.

"I don't know. I just...I'm scared for what's going to happen in there," Louis explained.

"Well, there's no need to be," Niall shrugged. "If you're not possessed, you should be fine as can be."

Louis nodded and then walked towards them, joining the crew. He glanced over at Liam out of the corner of his eye and watched as his hand started to scratched at the fingerprints that Harry had left. They looked so painful. Louis didn't know how Liam was scratching at them without wincing. They got to the doors and Liam took his hand away from the place on his neck, blood covering his finger tips.

"Liam, your neck -" Louis told him, his eyes widening.

"What are - " Liam started but then looked at his fingers, the blood running down them. As if on cue, he started to scratch at the burns with both of his hands, tearing the flesh away. Tears were falling down his face as he ripped. "It burns so bad! I don't know how to stop it!"

Niall and Louis each took one of his arms, trying to pry them away from the open wounds. It was like his hands were glued to him, as if he wanted to hurt himself. Louis looked at Niall, a glance of worry on his face.

"Liam,  _stop_!" Louis commanded, using all of his might to tear Liam's hand away from his wounds.

Suddenly, Liam quit. Blood was dripping down Liam's neck, staining the collar of his gray t-shirt. His cheeks were wet with tears and his eyes were filled with horror. Louis looked at Liam's hands. Blood covered the tattoos on his hands, drying with every second that passed. There was flesh caked underneath his fingernails, showing just how deep that he dug into the burns. Louis looked at his friend in the eyes, the rage that he had felt earlier now dormant.

"We need to get him in there and get this taken care of  _now_ ," Niall demanded, holding onto Liam's bloodied left hand, the veins in Niall's hands popping out just slightly at how hard he was gripping it.

Louis did the same and they advanced into the church. Thankfully, they were the only ones and there weren't any congregation members lurking around. They would've completely flipped at the sight of Liam. It would've completely ruined everything if that were to have happened. They approached the door at the back of the foyer that read "PASTOR'S OFFICE" on a small sign. Niall brought his free hand up to the dark mahogany door and knocked his knuckles against it. It took a few moments before the heavy door creaked open and a small old man appeared on the other side of it, wearing the typical pastor casual outfit.

"Hello, boys, how may I-" the pastor started, but stopped once his eyes landed on Liam. "What on Earth is going on here?!"

"It looks bad, Father, but we need your help," Niall answered. "Please, Father. He was attacked by someone that is possessed and we need to exorcise him before it's too late."

"Guys, it's burning again," Liam warned, his arms trying to rip out of Niall and Louis' grips.

"Yes, yes, right this way. Hurry," the pastor instructed, rushing towards the sanctuary.

They followed him quickly, not letting go of Liam's arms or letting his refusal to enter the sanctuary get to them. Once they got into the sanctuary, the pastor had set a chair in the middle of the aisle. Niall and Louis drug Liam to the front of the church, pushing him down in the chair.

"I don't know what's happening. I feel like my throat is on fire," Liam cried out, crying yet again.

The pastor tossed them a small rope, in which Niall proceeded to tie around Liam's wrists. The pastor was in his Sunday garb and stood in front of Liam, a Bible in his hands. He began reading the excerpt that was in all of the movies. It was so chilling to hear it in real life. Louis never thought that he would have to. He could honestly say that he never wanted to experience something like this again.

Louis watched as Liam moved his head back and forth, trying desperately to itch and pick at the burns. A look of pain was all over Liam's features. He hated seeing his best friend like that, so hurt and full of terror. He wanted to help him in some way, but he knew that just being there while a man of God cast out whatever evil was trying to pick its way into him was enough.

It was almost immediate when Liam quit writhing and trying to break out of his restraints. His head dropped suddenly and the only noises that filled the echoes of the church was his soft sobs. The pastor closed the Bible and nodded, knowing that his work was finished.

"He's free," he remarked.

Louis and Niall quickly went to Liam's side, Louis untying the wrist restraints. As soon as he was free, Liam grabbed onto Niall, gripping his hoodie tightly as he sobbed so heavily into his chest. Louis looked at Niall, who had tears dripping out of his eyes as well. Niall was gripping Liam just as tight, if not more so.

"We have to get Harry in here as soon as we can," Niall said softly.

Louis nodded, knowing that if they didn't, his Harry was going to be gone. Whether it be that he would get killed by the demon being exorcised or if the demon would take over him.

\----

They were back at the studio, the tensions still high. Liam was quiet, sitting back by himself with Niall by his side. Louis kept his distance, not comfortable being around any of them. The uncomfortable silence was so thick in the air, Louis was sure that someone would be able to feel it a mile away. He fiddled with his fingers, still trying to make sense of what happened at the church. It was like whatever was in Harry had attached itself to Liam somehow and was trying to make him kill himself or cause him permanent pain. He couldn't imagine how Liam was feeling. The poor man was confused and scared, not knowing why his best friend would try to hurt him like that.

All three of their heads shot up when they heard the door click shut. Harry was walking into the room. Louis watched him, not being able to take his eyes off of him, even if he had wanted to. His eyes darted between the three of them.

"Why are you all staring at me?" he asked, stopping in his tracks. His eyes landed on Liam's bandaged neck. "Oh my goodness, Liam, what happened?!"

Harry went to go next to him, but Niall got up and blocked him, as if he was going to fight him. That was when Louis' chimed in, wanting to protect Harry. "He got jumped. He's fine."

Niall and Liam looked at him with a somewhat confused look. Harry looked back at him and sighed. "I'm so sorry that happened, Li. Some people would do anything for a quick buck."

The look on Liam's face was one of twisted confusion. That was a feeling that all of them were feeling. Well, not so much Louis for some reason. He just felt overly protective of him. Harry turned and started walking towards Louis. He sat down on his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck loosely. For once, Louis didn't feel scared or threatened with the positioning.

"I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever," Harry admitted, looking at Louis with his normal green eyes. "Can we have a date night tonight?"

Louis was somewhat taken aback, wanting to say no just in case it was a trap, but couldn't find it in himself to do so. "Yes, I would love that. I miss you."

Harry flashed him a closed mouth smile, one that wasn't creepy or made him want to cower in fear. It was the normal cheeky smile he always had. "I can't wait."

"Me neither," Louis smiled back, pecking his lips. He really did miss him.

Harry then got up, announcing that he was going to go to the restroom. Louis felt a slight ounce of happiness having kissed him, the version of the boy that he fell in love with. He looked up and both Niall and Liam were staring at him with appalled expressions, as if Louis committed an act of betrayal.

"Why are you looking at me like I just kicked a puppy?" Louis questioned.

"What the hell was that?" Niall asked in a panic. "Did you just make a date with the Devil?"

"A date with the Devil? Now you're just being ridiculous," Louis claimed, rolling his eyes.

"Did you not see what he did to me? What happened yesterday  _because_ of him?!" Liam exclaimed, his voice cracking with the heavy amount of emphasis he was putting on his statements. "I was  _exorcised_  because of what he did. He put a demon on me and was trying to make me kill myself!"

Louis was silent, thinking about everything. He knew that he should've said no.  _He knew it._ The only thing was that he couldn't. It had been literally impossible to say the word. It was as though he had forgotten it momentarily when he had been asked the question. "Guys, I know that I should've said no. I wanted to, but I couldn't."

"You wanted to say no. That's a bunch of bullshit, Louis," Niall scoffed. "Whatever. You're the one that's going to get hurt, not me. So, have fun with your beloved."

Niall got up and walked off, Liam following him not long after. Louis just rolled his eyes. It frustrated him how Niall could be so narrow minded sometimes. How was he supposed to talk to him about the situation if he was just going to be an ass about it?

\----

Louis was driving home from the restaurant, resting his hand gently on top of Harry's. He was pleasantly surprised at how well the date went. He was especially surprised that Harry was acting like himself again. It was like the demon that had been inside of him had decided to disappear.

"Thank you for tonight," Harry muttered, leaning over the middle console as he pressed a kiss to Louis' cheeks. "It was nice."

"It was, wasn't it?" Louis agreed.

"You were a gentleman," Harry giggled.

"Only for you, my peach," Louis responded, a smile etching its way onto his face.

It was a nice feeling not to be overcome with terror or fear next to Harry. Louis still had somewhat of a guard up, but he had a feeling that he was going to be able to take that down. If he was still possessed, he surely wouldn't still be acting like himself again. He rubbed soft circles into Harry's hands, feeling comfortable expressing his love for the boy again. It was refreshing.

Not too long later, Louis pulled up outside of their apartment. They both sat in the vehicle for a few seconds in silence. Louis looked over at Harry, admiring how soft and gentle he looked. Harry turned his head, his sparkly green eyes meeting Louis'. All he did was smile before initiating a kiss on his smooth baby pink lips. When he pulled away just slightly, a feeling of happiness and trust fell over him as he looked at Harry's face.

"I love you so much," Harry whispered, a small smile forming.

The two got out of the car and hurried up the dark sidewalk to the door of the apartment. As soon as they were inside, Louis went to ask Harry a question, but was cut off by Harry jumping on him and immediately attaching their lips together in a sloppy kiss. The sudden act of friskiness from Harry immediately got Louis in the mood for what was coming next. He threw the keys down on the end table and hefted Harry up by his bum, stumbling towards their bedroom. Once they were close enough distance from the bed, Louis let go of Harry, dropping him lightly onto the bed. He hovered above him, rushing to take off the articles of clothing.

"Wanna try something new," Harry panted, looking up at Louis with eager eyes.

Louis nodded and the two swapped positions. Harry now straddling his hips and playing with the waistband of his pants. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Louis' again, his hands dancing delicately all around Louis' abdomen. He sat up again, starting to massage Louis' shoulders in a way that caused Louis' eyes to drift shut in utter relaxation. He was in such a bliss from the deep rub that he didn't notice that Harry's hands wrapped tightly around his neck until he started gasping for air. Louis' eyes shot open, looking at Harry above him, who was looking down at him with dark green eyes and the chilling smirk as he squeezed tighter and tighter.

Louis felt the life being pushed out of him, trying to push Harry back, but couldn't succeed. Just as he felt the mass of exhaustion and breathlessness wash over him, an idea occurred to him. With every ounce of strength that he had left, Louis quickly brought his knee up, catching Harry's family jewels at just the right amount to cause him to let loose and allow Louis to run out of the room.

Without looking back, Louis bolted out of the apartment and sprinted as fast as he could. Deja vu occurred as he remembered his nightmare that he had had those few nights back. Quickly glancing behind him to see if the dream was real to life, Louis turned his head, seeing nothing behind him in the dim light of dusk. He immediately turned left, heading towards Niall's, not knowing another place to go or anyone else that he could talk to.

His boyfriend that had been so soft and pure just twenty minutes prior had attempted to choke him to death.

The haunting part was that he looked like he had been enjoying every second of it.

Louis rapidly knocked on Niall's door, hearing the boy groan about having to get up on the other side. As soon as it was opened, Louis pushed past him, demanding him to shut and lock the door. Niall looked at him with a puzzled expression as Louis stood there, hunched over with his hands on his knees, panting. A full sprint was not the brightest thing to do after being strangled.

"What the hell is going on?" Niall questioned.

"It's...he..." Louis panted, not being able to get enough air. "Water."

He focused on the patterns in the wooden floor, his vision clouding and going clear in rhythm with his rapid heartbeat. Everything felt like it was pulsating and that he was close to collapsing. Tearing him out of his trance, Niall grabbed his bicep and led him over to the couch, setting him down and shoving the glass of water at him. Louis took a moment to reorient himself before holding the glass to his lips and gulping down the cool liquid. He threw his head back, wanting to shut his eyes, but was scared that Harry would show up and try to strangle him again.

"Oh my God, Louis. What the hell happened to you?" Niall asked, sounding more shocked than before. Out of the corner of his eye, Louis watched as Niall moved over to the cushion next to him. "Do you mind filling me in here?"

"Harry," Louis stifled out, taking another drink. His breath was starting to even out, thankfully for him. Exhaustion fell over him, making his eyelids heavy.

"Don't you dare fall asleep on me," Niall demanded.

Louis brought his head up and blinked a few times, encouraging himself to stay awake. "It was Harry. He tried to kill me."

Niall looked at him, not very surprised. Louis was waiting for him to tell him 'I told you so,' but it never came. "Are you okay? I thought he was normal."

"He's -" Louis started, but was cut off by the loud knocking on the front door. His eyes went wide and his heartrate picked up speed again. Niall went to get up, but Louis grasped his arm and pulled him back down. "Don't answer it.  _It's him._ "

"How would he know that you would go here?" Niall asked.

"Because you are the closest and I wouldn't run all the way to Liam's," Louis explained in a 'duh' tone.

Niall rolled his eyes and shook himself out of Louis' grasp, going towards the door. Louis didn't know what to do. He hurried and got up, tiptoeing swiftly to the end bedroom. The front door opened and Louis squeezed his eyes shut, fearing what Harry might do to Niall, knowing that he would be lying about him. Tears slipped down his cheeks, a mixture of emotions falling over him. He felt betrayal, terror, sadness, anxiety... he didn't know how to describe it.

"Louis, it's okay, it's just Liam!" Niall called down the hallway.

Louis felt his shoulders lose the slightest bit of tension and he let out a deep breath. He opened the bedroom door to go talk to the two when he looked up and saw Harry standing there with a vengeful look on his face. Louis backed up, only for Harry to start stepping towards him. When he was up against the wall, he started screaming. He squeezed his eyes shut again, feeling himself begin to cry.

"What's wrong?!" Liam's voice rang out.

Louis' eyes flipped open and Liam was holding onto both of his arms as though he was steadying him. Louis' head flipped around the room, looking for Harry. When he didn't see him, he crumbled, nearly falling to his knees. Liam grabbed him beneath his armpits and held him up in a hug, letting him sob.

"What just happened, Lou?" Niall asked softly, placing a hand on his back.

"He was here. He was going to do it again," Louis bawled out.

When he was calmed down enough, Liam and Niall helped him walk back out to the couch, placing him down gently. Louis didn't know what was happening, but he wanted it - no, it needed - to stop. They needed to go back to living their lives normally again.

"What happened?" Liam asked, feeling confused as far as the entire situation was concerned.

"Harry and I had our date night tonight, which went fine. He was sweet, he was cute. He was acting like himself again. I thought for sure that the demon was gone and that we had our precious Harry back. When we got back to the apartment, we started snogging and he was a little more aggressive when it first started, but I didn't think anything of it because it's been a long time since we've done anything intimate with each other. We went in the bedroom and he told me that he wanted to try something new, so I let him. He started to massage my shoulders and then he put his hands around my neck and started choking me. He almost killed me. If I wouldn't have kneed him in the balls, I'm pretty sure that I would be dead," Louis explained.

"So, it was a trap like Niall and I assumed?" Liam clarified.

"This is not the time for an I-told-you-so, Liam. He could've died," Niall snapped. "But he does have a point. He trapped you. Whatever demon is inside of him knew that he could get you with a date night."

"Why does he want to kill me though? I've never messed with demons," Louis proclaimed.

"It doesn't have to do with anything that you've done. It's a dark spirit that's evil. It wants to cause death to others, whether that be its host or someone else," Niall explained. "As for you, you're someone that Harry loves the most. The demon is going to try to hurt you the most, if not kill you. If we let it stay in him too long, it's going to kill Harry."

Louis sat silently, letting the words sink in. He didn't want to die and he certainly didn't want the person that he loved most in the world to die either. Not because of some stupid demonic possession. He knew that Harry was still in there, so the entity hadn't yet killed him, which gave Louis somewhat a sense of relief. However, he was still scared. He didn't know how that thing was going to react now that he had tried to kill him.

"What happened in the hallway?" Liam inquired.

"I saw him standing there, wanting to strangle me again," Louis admitted, aware that what he saw couldn't have been real. "He wasn't real. It couldn't have been possible."

"Do you want to stay at my place?" Liam asked.

Louis shook his head, wanting to take him up on the idea, but couldn't accept. "It would be too dangerous."

"Yeah, but it's more dangerous if you go back to yours. Louis, he tried to kill you. Who's to say that he won't try again and you won't escape this time?" Liam prompted.

"I know that," Louis agreed. "But I can't stay with you. I'll bring danger to you and what is he going to think if I don't show up back at the apartment? He's going to get suspicious and he could get even more violent than before."

The three of them were quiet, unsure of what to do. Questions rolled through Louis' mind like the end credits of a movie. He tried to wrack his brain to think of an easy solution, but kept coming up short. There were all of the shows on TV that dealt with entities and demonic possession, but who was to say that they would work? The only one that he would even trust trying anything from is Supernatural, but not by much. That was Hollywood at work. They probably weren't even aware that demons really did exist. Louis brought his eyes up, Niall and Liam looking at him with expressions of horror and disgust.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face? Is he here?" Louis interrogated.

Liam shook his head. "You...there's dark black and blue handprints on your neck."

Louis quirked his eyebrow and scoffed, doubting it. "I would expect there to be bruises, but I doubt that there's actually handprints. I appreciate the dramatization, Li. You'd be good in a horror film."

"He's not lying, Louis," Niall whispered, his eyes fixed on his neck.

Louis shook his head, knowing that they were being that extra. They usually were about things, so it wouldn't surprise him if they were being dramatic. Louis got up and went to the bathroom, just to look in the mirror to make sure. He knew that there was going to be bruises as Harry did squeeze him very tightly and very hard. However, when he approached the mirror, he nearly fell down at what appeared in it. There  _were_ handprints. They were very dark handprints - a deep black with a red ring around them, like when you would get a tattoo. Louis brought his fingers to them, just to see if they felt different than the rest of his untouched skin. He gulped, touching the dark marks as light as a feather. That was when a question arose to him. Why weren't they burns like Liam had? Could it be that Harry had burned the skin to charcoal? That couldn't be. It would've felt rough.

He rushed out of the bathroom, back towards his two mates as another thought occurred to him. "What if he's branding me? What if he's leaving his mark that I'm his?"

Niall and Liam were understandably speechless. Would Harry do that? No, Harry wouldn't, but a demon would. Could that happen? Why was he marking him? Louis paced back and forth, trying to wrap his head around the idea that he was now an object of the Devil's.

"We need to go to that church as soon as possible. I don't want to be a plaything for Lucifer," Louis demanded.

"You're probably not a plaything, Lou," Liam confronted.

Louis stopped. "I'm not a plaything? Okay, then explain to me why these prints aren't burn marks like yours were. Explain to me why they are like a tattoo in my skin. They don't even hurt, Liam," Louis rushed out in a panic. "That bitch branded me."

\----

"I found something that we could try," Niall piped up.

The three were sitting in Liam's basement, looking up ways to get the demon out of Harry. They had called churches all around to find a pastor to exorcise him, but they were either too hesitant to do it or they had to call someone for permission, which would take about three weeks. They knew that they couldn't wait that long. They were desperate for something.

"What is it?" Liam asked.

"Injecting him with holy water," Niall told him.

Louis stopped what he was doing, physically turning around and looking at Niall with judgmental face. "That would work if he would allow us to do that, but he'll try and kill us if we even bring that shit near him."

"You know, being that is the only somewhat reliable thing and most realistic thing that we've found, you'd think that you'd be willing to try it," Niall sassed back.

Louis rolled his eyes. "Fine. Do what you want."

He was starting to get fed up with Niall. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he was starting to go crazy with every word that he said. It wasn't a bad idea, but it did seem like it was going to be hard to do. It wasn't like they could do it when he was sleeping because Harry never slept. He wasn't tired either. It just made it five thousand times more difficult. There had to be a better way, but Louis just couldn't find or think of anything. He kept switching back to Twitter and ignoring the task at hand.

"Are you even looking?" Liam asked him, interrupting his thoughts.

"I thought we were going to try and inject him with holy water," Louis commented with a snarky edge to his tone.

"If you don't like the idea, we don't have to do it that way. All we're looking for is options. Hell, you aren't even looking - Niall and I are! I would think that you would want your dearly beloved boyfriend to be back to normal rather than potentially dying because of this damn thing. It's not fair to him," Liam scolded.

Louis wanted to slap him. Hell, he wanted to do so much worse to him. He felt so much anger and rage towards him, it wasn't even fathomable. Louis had never felt such rage towards anyone, especially Liam. It wasn't him. In his head, he was telling himself that he shouldn't be mad and that there wasn't any reason to be mad, but he was seeing red. It was like something was taking over  _his_ body.

"Liam, get the fuck out of my sight," Louis said through gritted teeth. In his head, he didn't sound nearly as rude or harsh.

"Excuse me? I'm not going anywhere. I want to help my friend get better, unlike some people," Liam snapped.

"Liam, I'm serious. If you don't want me to snap your arm like a God damn twig, I'd leave," Louis warned. "Just look at me and trust me on this."

Liam looked at Louis, his bothered expression changing into one of fright. He quickly got up and left the basement, not looking back. Niall pulled his earbud out and looked at the basement door and then back to Louis.

"Where the hell is he going?" Niall asked, completely oblivious to the argument that had just occurred.

"Niall, I think whatever is in Harry is starting to get to me," Louis told him, no longer feeling any type of rage. Well, towards Liam anyway.

"What? How?" Niall asked.

"I was snapping at Liam and I got so fucking angry. I wanted to break his bones, Niall. He wasn't even being that aggravating! I think it's controlling me or something because I feel somewhat normal right now, like the thing that just happened never happened," Louis explained, absolutely terrified as to what might happen.

Niall looked at him, his face turning paler than it had been before. "Um, are you sure? I mean, I know Liam and he can get panicky, especially with this shit. He can be a proper asshole if he so chooses."

"He wasn't, Niall. I have a high tolerance -"

"A high tolerance? Really? Seems to me that when a journalist pointed out your support with the rainbow Apple logo t-shirt, you blew everything completely out of proportion because you thought they were saying that you were gay and tried  _very_ hard to convince everyone that you were, in fact, straight. Which, by the way, didn't work. If anything, people started using it as a form of Larry proof in those long posts on Tumblr," Niall pointed out.

"Keep that kind of shit up and you'll meet the demon," Louis warned. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. I have a high tolerance when it comes to being bothered or getting angry at you, Liam, and Harry. With what Liam was spewing at me, I wouldn't have gotten so angry or wanted to hurt him. The only time I've ever felt that angry was...i've never gotten so angry that I've wanted to hurt someone. That's what's alarming to me, Niall."

Niall stood there for a minute, processing what Louis was trying to figure out. "We need to get this taken care of. Fast."

\----

Louis was nervous, the outline of the syringe burning a hole into his side as he thought about it. It could actually burning him since it was filled with holy water, but he was just hoping that it was just because he was thinking about how he was going to go about injecting it into Harry and that he was just aware that it was there. Another reason that he was nervous was because he had told Harry that they were going to have a night in, meaning that they were most likely going to end up fooling around. Normally, Louis would be down for that happening, but after almost getting killed the last time, he wasn't so excited for it.

"What are we doing tonight, Louis?" Harry asked. When he saw the dark pine colored eyes, he knew that he wasn't talking to Harry.

"I thought we could just order in, watch Netflix, just relax? We haven't really gotten a chance to do so in a while," Louis told him, saying it just like he had rehearsed in his head.

"That sounds very pleasant to me...what do you say we do it in a different order?" Harry asked, sitting gently down on Louis' lap so he was straddling him.

He had a naughty smirk on his face as he brushed his finger across Louis' lips. Louis looked up at him, wanting to be turned on, but was so nervous and scared, that he couldn't find it in him. Before Louis could think anymore, Harry leaned down and roughly pressed his lips to his, shoving his tongue into Louis' mouth without even asking. Louis felt himself growing in his pants, both happy that he was getting somewhat turned on so he could avoid questions, but also nervous because he wasn't really that turned on. Maybe Harry was somehow controlling it? That was impossible. At least, Louis thought it was. Demons can't control someone else's genitals.

As they snogged for at least twenty minutes, Louis had managed to lay Harry on the couch so it was harder for him to get away. Harry was stripped down to his boxers and Louis was only stripped of a shirt. Harry looked up at Louis with a hungry expression and then down at his jeans. Louis gulped and then flashed him a smirk, pretending that it was a normal situation.

"You ready for daddy, princess?" Louis asked.

Harry eagerly nodded, sliding his boxers down his legs so he was fully exposed. "Please do something. Anything."

He was going to be honest - hearing Harry beg for him, despite the fact that he was possessed, was actually really turning him on. He lowered himself between Harry's spread legs, licking a stripe across his exposed hole. Moans continued to come out of Harry as Louis continued. Louis' eyes peered up at Harry as he kept swirling around his tongue, seeing that Harry's eyes were closed as he was letting Louis pleasure him. Just what Louis had wanted to do. Carefully, he reached down and dug in his pocket, grabbing out the syringe. He had rehearsed how to get one set to give a shot with an empty one and was able to figure it out without having to stop eating out Harry. With his understanding from what Niall's article said, he was to either insert the syringe into the thigh, the chest, arms, or the neck and it would have an immediate effect. Louis swirled his tongue around faster and faster to drive Harry up the wall and to assure that he would keep his eyes closed. He got ready to jab it into Harry's bare thigh when he suddenly didn't want to do it, but he knew that it wasn't actually him. Ignoring the voice, Louis stabbed the needle into Harry's thigh and pressed down, injecting the vile of holy water directly into his bloodstream. The place where it had been inserted smoking and bubbling like he had just touched the burner on an oven.

Louis immediately backed off of Harry, hopping to his feet as his once sexy moans quickly turned into a loud and deafening scream of both anger and terror. Louis watched in fear as he saw Harry's eyes fill with an inky black. He slowly backed up as Harry rose his head and looked directly at Louis.

"Thought you could get rid of me, huh? Afraid it's going to take a little more than holy water to do that," Harry told him, the smirk on his face identical to the one in the movie Truth or Dare.

Harry got on his feet causing Louis' heart to begin racing even faster than it already was. He quickly ran down the hall and turned into their bedroom, locking their door and pushing the dresser in front of it. He looked around, hoping that his phone was somewhere in there, but didn't see it. He heard Harry's body slam against the barricaded door and the dresser shook with the force that had been behind it. Louis backed up and looked around the room for something when he noticed Harry's phone lying face down on the nightstand. He rushed over and picked it up before locking himself in the master bathroom, hiding in the shower tub. He quickly dialed Niall's number.

_"Harry?"_

"No, it's Louis. You need to get here with the back up plan  _now_. I injected all of the holy water but it didn't work. The only thing that it did was burn him and now he's extremely angry with me. You need to hurry the fuck up, Niall," Louis instructed.

_"Where are you in the flat?"_ Niall asked quickly. He heard another large slam on the door, this one sounding stronger than the last few had been.

"I'm in the master bathroom. I have both the door to the bedroom and then the bathroom locked and barricaded, but he's getting angrier and I think the demon in him is getting stronger because of that and I don't want this fucker to overtake my baby, so hurry the fuck up," Louis demanded, quickly hanging up the call so Niall could get a move on.

He sat in the tub, his heartbeat getting faster with each bang against the door. He knew that the dresser was heavy and it was hard to move. When he had pushed it in front of the door, he had used all of his might and pure adrenaline. He normally wouldn't be able to move it very easily. That gave him a small sense of security, knowing that it was going to be difficult for Harry to get into the bedroom. However, once he got past that, the lock on the bathroom door was only so strong and could only take so much of a beating. He didn't want to die. Not at the hands of his possessed boyfriend anyway.

In not too long of time, he heard the muffled sounds of yelling through the thin walls. He prayed to God, knowing that it was Niall and Liam that had finally arrived. Louis got up out of the shower tub and unlocked the bathroom, going towards the door. His legs were shaking as he walked towards the dresser. Everything that had been on top of it was now lying on the floor. He was thankful that there wasn't anything glass on it.

He leaned towards the door, not daring to move the dresser in case Harry got a wild hair to start beating against it again. Harry was yelling evil and horrid things at the top of his lungs while also screaming. The voice under him was one that he didn't recognize - it was the backup plan. While they were researching after everyone had calmed down and decided that Plan A was to inject Harry with holy water, they figured that having a Plan B would be a good idea just in case Plan A ended up being a complete farce. They had found a paranormal investigator-slash-demonologist-slash-ordained minister that was more than willing to perform an exorcism. After making a couple calls to get ahold of him, they arranged to have him on call for when they decided to act on their plan.

As he heard the man speak the prayer, he felt his anxiety rise. The volume of Harry's screams were deafening and it worried Louis. He knew that risks of what could happen and they scared him. He kept praying with all of his heart that the evil inside of him wouldn't kill Harry. He shut his eyes, listening to everything happening around him, crossing his fingers and whispering "please, please, please" over and over.

Then everything went silent.

Louis opened his eyes, gulping. He didn't know if that was good or bad that Harry quit screaming because he didn't know what scene was on the other side of the door. He went to the other side of the dresser, taking a deep breath before slowly heaving the dresser back to its spot. It wasn't in the exact spot, but he was able to get the door open and that was all he cared about at that moment. He wrapped his hands around the golden door knob and shut his eyes, preparing for the worst. He swung the door open and he opened his eyes at the same time. Louis gasped slightly when he saw Harry lying in a lump on the floor. In his peripheral, Niall, Liam, and the man who may have saved Harry were standing there, staring at the same thing that Louis was .

"Is he dead?" Louis muttered, almost inaudibly, his eyes welling with tears. He said that he was prepared to handle it, but now that it could be happening, he wasn't at all prepared for it to happen. "Can someone please answer me."

"I...I don't know, kid," the man said, a southern American accent coming out of him.

"Why don't you know? How can you not know?" Louis demanded, his voice raising as he started to have a panic attack.

Before the man could say anything, Harry's body jerked as he took a large gasp for air and he sat up. Louis automatically started going towards him, but was stopped by the man yelling at him.

"Don't go near 'em. You don't know if he's cured yet," the man demanded. He looked at Harry. "Look at me, devil boy."

Harry looked over at him, a terrified expression all over his face. Louis tried to see his eyes, but couldn't make out through his teary vision what shade of green they were. The man took a flask from his pocket and threw it at Harry, hitting his face.

"What the hell?" Harry asked, obviously confused. "Who are you? Where's Louis?"

"Go ahead. He's fine," the man instructed.

Louis continued to his terrified and dazed boyfriend, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into his chest as his own tears streamed down his cheeks. Harry gripped onto Louis' arms, shaking as he sobbed. Judging by how tight Harry was clinging onto him and the rugged breathing patterns, Louis knew that he was going through a panic attack and rightfully so. He felt both horrible and relieved. He felt horrible because he had hurt Harry throughout his possession and he felt so bad for him with what he was feeling now that he was free. But he felt relieved because he knew that he had his old Harry back, the boy that he loved with every ounce of his heart was now curled up against him in his arms.

"It's okay, baby, you're okay," Louis reassured. He looked up at his friends and the man. "Can you guys leave us alone for a few minutes?"

The three of them left the hallway and went towards the living room. Louis squeezed Harry tighter, knowing that helped him through panic attacks the best. He missed having Harry so close, he missed not having to fear him just by looking at him. Harry pushed off him, looking up at Louis with his red and soaked eyes.

"What happened to me? Why do I hurt?" Harry asked, confused.

"Baby, I'll explain everything to you in a few minutes. Why don't you go lay in bed and I'll get Niall and Liam out of here, okay?" Louis suggested. "Are you going to be okay being alone for a few minutes?"

Harry nodded hesitantly. Louis knew that that was the last thing that Harry wanted, but he also knew that he wanted to be alone with Harry when he explained everything that happened because it would overwhelm him with so many other people around him. Louis helped him to his feet and walked him into the bedroom. He watched as Harry looked around at the fallen belongings, but didn't say anything. Harry crawled into the bed, wrapping himself in the comforter like it was hugging him.

"I'll be right back, okay? You'll be okay," Louis reassured, turning and walking out of the room.

He walked out to the living room, the three guests sitting on the furniture, conversing very little. Louis took a seat in the nearest recliner, not sure what to say.

"How is he?" Niall asked.

"He seems okay. He's obviously confused and shaken up," Louis answered. "I would let you go see him, but I think it's best if you stay away until tomorrow or something. It would be too overwhelming for him otherwise."

"That would make sense," Liam piped up. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't get a chance to hurt me, thankfully. I'm relieved," Louis responded. He turned to the man. "Thank you for doing that. You saved him."

"No problem, son," he replied with a smile forming on his bearded lips.

"What do I owe you?" Louis asked, fully prepared to pay the top dollar to this man that saved Harry's life.

"Nothin'," he responded.

"What? Why?" he asked, taken aback by his response.

"Because I think that you've been put through enough with this demon. You don't need to pay anymore," he explained.

"Thank you so much, sir. You saved the love of my life and I can't thank you enough," Louis responded, the biggest smile on his face forming.

"It's my pleasure. Just let me know if you need me again and I'll be happy to help," he responded getting up from the couch. "Have a good rest of your night, boys."

"You too, thank you," Louis responded, watching as the man left.

"I suppose we should get going too so you can talk to Harry, yeah?" Liam stated, both him and Niall standing. "Let him know that we're glad that he's okay."

"I will. Thank you for everything," Louis responded, walking them towards the door.

He gave them both a tight hug, happy that the nightmare was over. They left, leaving Louis alone to go explain everything to Harry and hope that he would be okay. He knew that Harry would be. The guy was strong. Hell, he made it through a demon possession.

Louis walked back into the bedroom, Harry lying on his side, his eyes open as tear trails glistened against his face. Louis sat down on Harry's side of the bed, putting a hand gently on his hip. Harry looked at him, a small half-smile on his face.

"What happened to me?" he asked.

"You were possessed," Louis responded.

"I know that much. That thing was an arsehole. I'm glad he's gone," Harry said. "Why is everything in ruin? Did I try to hurt you?"

Louis explained everything that had happened in the time that Harry had been possessed. There were a lot of tears from both of them and Harry felt extremely guilty for everything. Louis reassured Harry that nobody was mad at him, which took a lot of convincing. The conversation ended with Louis cuddling Harry close, not wanting to let him go. He felt Harry's breath slow as the boy fell asleep and a smile formed as Louis shut his eyes as well. It was likely that Harry was going to sleep for the whole day since he hadn't slept during the weeks that he was possessed. That didn't bother Louis. If anything, he would lay next to him the entire time, content with the fact that he knew his Harry was back to normal. He leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on Harry's temple.

"I love you so much, Harry," Louis whispered. "I will never let anything like this happen to you ever again."

\----


End file.
